Denver – Denver’s Department of Transportation and Infrastructure (DOTI) is converting a 16-block stretch of East 13th and 14th avenues in the East Colfax neighborhood from one-way to two-way to slow vehicles down and better reflect the existing neighborhood context. The new configuration will match the two-way configuration on 13th and 14th avenues east of Yosemite St., providing greater consistency for drivers crossing Yosemite.
East 13th and 14th avenues between Quebec St. and Yosemite St. primarily serve the adjacent neighborhood with lower average daily volumes (approx. 3k vehicles a day) as compared to E. 13th and 14th avenues between Quebec St. and Colorado Blvd. (approx. 6k vehicles a day) and west of Colorado Blvd. (approx. 12k vehicles a day). Please note: A future project included in the recently-passed Vibrant Denver Bond will analyze a different part of the E. 13th and 14th corridors from Quebec St. to Colorado Blvd. to implement safety improvements to address speeding, serious crashes, intersection safety, and multimodal connectivity on that stretch. That bond project has not yet begun, and the public will be notified of ways to participate in that work at a later date.
The conversion from one-way to two-way in the East Colfax neighborhood has been long-standing request to address safety and speeding concerns and DOTI identified in-house materials and crews to make the changes happen. Speed data captured from April to October 2023 found the majority of drivers on these stretches were traveling at greater than 40 miles an hour, while it’s posted at 30 mph. As part of this effort, the speed limit on these stretches will be lowered to 25 mph.
Also as part of this effort, all-way stops will be installed on 13th and 14th avenues at Uinta and Willow streets, further supporting the feel and function of a local street network. The traffic signals at Syracuse St. will be studied for removal using post-implementation data.
Variable message boards and other signage will alert drivers of the changes.